Ace Bailey was getting a lot of negative press before the Utah Jazz drafted him, but because of his obvious talent, they didn't think twice when they had the chance to take him. Bailey's talent was never in question, but the biggest test for him was determining if he could mold his natural talent and whether his supposed attitude problems were real.
With his first NBA season almost entirely in the books, it's already clear that Bailey has a high enough basketball IQ to succeed at the highest level, as it is that any concerns about his character beforehand were unfounded. Among those who have been impressed with the Jazz rookie is sportswriting icon Zach Lowe.
Lowe gave Bailey the highest marks on his podcast, explaining why he has him on his first-team All-Rookie team.
"I've loved Ace Bailey's rookie season. It's the complete opposite of what I expected it to be. I thought he would come in based on all the intel - did he even want to be in Utah? Was it Washington or bust? Was he gonna report? - I thought he was gonna come in and be like 'Oh, I'm just gonna shoot a bunch of horrible shots. I wanna score. All I wanna do is score.'
"He has played the exact opposite way. He cuts hard, he defends hard. Like, watch his chasedown blocks. He's engaged in the game as a screener. He'll screen, roll, and make a pass out of the short roll, and lately as the Jazz have gone full-tank mode, they've let him spread his wings offensively. And it has not come at the expense, to a large degree anyway, of his efficiency."
Lowe concluded by saying Bailey has had an "A+" rookie season. In so doing, he summarized how Bailey passed his biggest test early on for Utah.
That bodes well for his Jazz future
If Bailey is already impressing this much, imagine how things will look as he continues to get comfortable with each passing season. No one would have been upset if Bailey had one of those seasons where it was clear he was as talented as he was raw, but the latter adjective isn't as much of a problem as many anticipated it would be this early on.
Utah won't even be counting on Bailey to be a superstar once they are locked and loaded for next season, but his development could make for a major swing in where they end up next season. If he's this good now and only gets better, the Jazz won't be just a fun story; they'll be title contenders.
That definitely sounds like we're already thinking too far ahead and too ambitiously, but with the season Bailey has had, can you blame us?